The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created by Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but its mission has been
shaped by more than this one single piece of legislation. Numerous
laws and amendments, and a handful of executive orders, have
expanded, limited or directed the Commission's responsibilities and
authority. Some of the most significant are collected here.

For historical reasons, these are presented as originally passed
by Congress or issued by the President. Many, but not necessarily
all, of the subsequent amendments are also gathered here. For the
current texts of the laws we enforce, as amended, please see Laws Enforced by the EEOC.

The Supreme Court

The various laws that govern EEOC's actions are subject to
interpretation by the federal court system, and most importantly by
the Supreme Court. These interpretations have at times reinforced,
and at other times forced change upon, EEOC's role as a law
enforcement agency.

In June 1941, on the eve of World War II, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802 prohibiting government
contractors from engaging in employment discrimination based on
race, color or national origin. This order is the first
presidential action ever taken to prevent employment discrimination
by private employers holding government contracts. The Executive
Order applies to all defense contractors, but contains no
enforcement authority. President Roosevelt signs the Executive
Order primarily to ensure that there are no strikes or
demonstrations disrupting the manufacture of military supplies as
the country prepares for War.

In July 1948, President Harry S. Truman orders the desegregation
of the Armed Forces by Executive Order 9981. The order requires
that there be "equality of treatment and opportunity for all
persons in the armed services without regard to race, color,
religion or national origin." America's fighting forces are
actually integrated only when the Korean War begins in 1952.

In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy signs Executive Order
10925 prohibiting federal government contractors from
discriminating on account of race and establishing the President's
Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Departing from previous
presidential directives, this Order grants the Committee, initially
chaired by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, authority to impose
sanctions for violations of the Executive Order. President Kennedy
states this enforcement authority signals a new "determination to
end job discrimination once and for all."

In June 1963, Congress passes the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
protecting men and women who perform substantially equal work in
the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. The EPA
is the first national civil rights legislation focusing on
employment discrimination. The Department of Labor has
responsibility for enforcement until 1978.

At 7:40 on the evening of June 19, after the longest debate in
its nearly 180-year history, the U.S. Senate passes the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. The vote in favor of the bill is 73 to 27.
Thirteen days later, on July 2, the U.S. House of Representatives
passes the bill and President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the bill into
law that same evening. Five hundred amendments were made to the
bill and Congress has debated the bill for 534 hours.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in a broad
array of private conduct including public accommodations,
governmental services and education. One section of the Act,
referred to as Title VII, prohibits employment discrimination based
on race, sex, color, religion and national origin. Title VII
applies to private employers, labor unions and employment agencies.
The Act prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring, wages,
assignment, promotions, benefits, discipline, discharge, layoffs
and almost every aspect of employment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also creates the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a five-member,
bipartisan commission whose mission is to eliminate unlawful
employment discrimination. The law provides that the Commissioners,
no more than three of whom may be from the same political party,
are appointed to five-year terms by the President and confirmed by
the Senate. The Chairman of the agency appoints the General
Counsel. EEOC is to open its doors for business on July 2, 1965 --
one year after Title VII's enactment into law.

Congress passes the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
(ADEA) protecting individuals who are between 40 and 65 years of
age from discrimination in employment. The Department of Labor has
enforcement responsibility. Three years earlier, Congress had voted
down an amendment to Title VII to include age discrimination as an
unlawful employment practice.

Working to develop close relationships with other federal
agencies, EEOC enters into its first Memorandum of Understanding
with the Department of Labor (DOL). DOL enforces Executive Order
11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, which imposes
nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements as a
condition of doing business with the Federal Government. The two
agencies agree to share information and coordinate investigations
of government contractors. Additionally, when EEOC finds a
violation of Title VII but is unable to secure an acceptable
agreement, then EEOC will refer the charge to DOL to institute an
enforcement action under the Executive Order.

In its fourth attempt to improve Title VII's effectiveness since
its enactment in 1964, Congress amends Title VII by approving the
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. The report accompanying
the bill states: "The time has come for Congress to correct the
defects in its own legislation. The promises of equal job
opportunity made in 1964 must [now] be made realities . . . ."
Accordingly, the 1972 amendments are designed to give EEOC the
authority to "back up" its administrative findings and to increase
the jurisdiction and reach of the agency.

The amendments result in the following:

EEOC has litigation authority. If the agency cannot secure an
acceptable conciliation agreement, it has the option of suing
nongovernment respondents -- employers, unions, and employment
agencies.

Educational institutions are subject to Title VII. Congress
found that discrimination against minorities and women in the field
of education was just as pervasive as discrimination in any other
area of employment.

State and local governments are no longer exempt from Title
VII. Removal of this exemption results in 10 million more employees
being immediately added to Title VII's coverage.

The Federal Government is subject to Title VII. Federal
executive agencies and defined units of the other branches must
make all personnel actions free from discrimination based on race,
color, sex, religion or national origin.

The number of employers covered by Title VII is increased by
reducing the number of employees (from 25 to 15) needed for an
employer to be covered by the Act.

Charging parties have a longer period of time to file their
charges, 180 or 300 days rather than 90 or 210 days. Additionally,
charging parties now have 90 days rather than 30 days to file a
lawsuit after EEOC has informed them that it is no longer working
on their charge. This extension of time affords charging parties a
better chance to find a lawyer if they wish to pursue their charges
in court.

As a result of the 1972 Amendments, the President, rather than
the EEOC Chairman, selects the agency's General Counsel. President
Richard M. Nixon nominates and the Senate confirms William Carey to
be the EEOC General Counsel.

Congress passes the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 501
prohibits the Federal Government as an employer from discriminating
against qualified individuals with disabilities. EEOC is now
responsible for enforcement of Section 501. The Act proves to be
the model for Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of
disability by private employers.

Congress amends Title VII by passing the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act of 1978 to make clear that discrimination based
on pregnancy is unlawful sex discrimination. This legislation
reverses the Supreme Court's Gilbert decision.

The 1978 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 make the
processes for federal employees' claims of discrimination on the
basis of disability and the available remedies virtually identical
to federal sector Title VII processes and remedies.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 abolishes the U.S. Civil
Service Commission and distributes its functions primarily among
three agencies: (1) the newly established Office of Personnel
Management; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; and (3) EEOC.
EEOC assumes responsibility for enforcing anti-discrimination laws
applicable to the civilian federal workforce as well as
coordinating all federal equal employment opportunity programs.

Seventeen federal agencies and departments are responsible for
enforcing 40 different non-discrimination statutes and Executive
orders. To eliminate duplication and conflict, President Jimmy
Carter signs Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 making EEOC
responsible for coordinating all federal equal employment
opportunity programs. Only three federal agencies, EEOC, the
Department of Justice and the Department of Labor's Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs are left with significant EEO
responsibility. Responsibility for enforcing the Equal Pay Act and
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is transferred from the
Department of Labor to EEOC.

President Jimmy Carter signs Executive Order 12067 abolishing
the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council and
transferring its responsibilities to EEOC. EEOC now has lead
responsibility for giving direction to the government's equal
employment opportunity efforts by developing uniform enforcement
standards to apply throughout government, including standardized
data collection and data sharing, joint training programs and
investigations and consistent policies.

Congress approves eliminating the upper age cap of 70 from the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Congress also exempts through
December 31, 1993, state and local governments when hiring or
retiring firefighters or law enforcement officials from age
limitations provided those limitations were in effect in March
1983. Congress also provides that colleges and universities through
1993, may involuntarily retire professors at age 70, if the
professor is serving under contracts of unlimited tenure.

Congress passes the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
(IRCA) which amends the Immigration and Nationality Act. IRCA
states that employers can be sanctioned and fined for hiring
illegal aliens. One section of IRCA complements Title VII by
prohibiting employers with four to 14 employees from discriminating
on the basis of national origin and also prohibits citizenship
discrimination.

Congress passes the Age Discrimination Claims Assistance Act of
1988 (ADCAA) thereby reinstating the rights of Age Discrimination
in Employment Act (ADEA) charging parties to file a private lawsuit
beyond the two or three year statute of limitations for an
additional 540 days (18 months). This Congressional extension
permits EEOC to complete the administrative processing of
backlogged ADEA charges while the charging party retains his or her
right to file a lawsuit.

In July, President George Bush signs into law the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) -- the world's first comprehensive
civil rights law for people with disabilities. The Act prohibits
discrimination against people with disabilities in employment
(Title I), in public services (Title II), in public accommodations
(Title III) and in telecommunications (Title IV). EEOC is
responsible for enforcing Title I's prohibition against
discrimination against people with disabilities in employment.
Title I does not become effective until two years after the
President signs the bill (July 26, 1992). The ADA is described as
the Emancipation Proclamation for the disability community.

In October, Congress passes the Older Workers Benefit Protection
Act of 1990 (OWBPA) overruling the Supreme Court's 1989 decision in
Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts. Betts held
that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not
forbid age discrimination in employee benefits except in rare
circumstances. The OWBPA amends the ADEA to prohibit age
discrimination in employee benefits and also establishes minimum
standards for an employee's voluntary waiver of an ADEA claim.

Congress passes the Age Discrimination Claims Assistance
Amendments of 1990 (ADCAA II) providing Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA) charging parties an additional 450 days in
which to file their own private ADEA lawsuits. This Act permits
EEOC to process the remaining backlog of age discrimination charges
while preserving the rights of charging parties to later bring
their own lawsuits.

Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA) thereby
overruling several Supreme Court decisions rendered in the late
1980s that had made it more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in
their employment discrimination suits and to recover fees and costs
when they won their lawsuits. The CRA amends procedurally and
substantively Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The amendments
provide for the first time that the parties can request jury trials
and that successful plaintiffs can recover compensatory and
punitive damages in intentional employment discrimination cases.
The CRA also expands Title VII's protections to include
Congressional and high level political appointees and eliminates
the two and three year statute of limitations period for filing
private lawsuits under the ADEA.

Congress passes the EEOC Education, Technical Assistance and
Training Revolving Fund Act of 1992 enabling EEOC to provide
technical assistance and materials to stakeholders. The fund is
supported from payments received from the recipients of EEOC
training.

Congress passes the Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments
of 1996 which permanently reinstate an exemption that permits state
and local governments to use age as a basis for hiring and retiring
law enforcement officers and firefighters.

The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 are enacted amending the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act to permit colleges and
universities to offer special age-based retirement incentives for
tenured faculty members at institutions of higher education; this
amendment replaces the former temporary exemptions which permitted
colleges and universities to mandatorily retire tenured faculty
members at age 65 and later at age 70.

In February, President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 13145
prohibiting federal departments and agencies from making employment
decisions based on protected genetic information. In issuing the
first Executive Order of the 21st Century, the President states
that he hoped the action would "set an example and pose a challenge
for every employer in America" to adopt a policy not to
discriminate on the basis of protected genetic information "because
. . . no employer should ever review your genetic records along
with your resume." The Executive Order assigns to EEOC the
responsibility for coordinating the policy with federal departments
and agencies.